Internally illuminated sign



v Sept. 24, 1968 R. 1.. GRAY 3,402,494

INTERNALLY ILLUMINATED SIGN Filed Oct. 22, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR RAYMOND L. GRAY ATTORNEYS Sept. 24, 1968 R. L. GRAY INTERNALLYILLUMINATED S IGN 5 SheetsSheet 2 \NVENTOR RAYMOND L. GRAY Filed 001.

ATTORNEYS p 24, 1968 R. L. GRAY 3,402,494

INTERNALLY ILLUMINATED 5 IGN Filed Oct. 22, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR ATTORNEYS RAYMOND L GRAY I Sept. 24, v GRAY INTERNALLYILLUMINATED SIGN 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. I3

Filed Oct. 22, 1965 FIG. II

FIG. IO

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INVE NTOR RAYMOND L. GRAY ATTORNEYS P 1968 R. L. GRAY INTERNALLY ILLUMINATED SIGN 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 22, 1965 FIG. I8

' FIG. 20

FIG. 22

INVENTOR. RAYMOND L. GRAY FIG. 2|

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,402,494 INTERNALLY ILLUMINATED SIGNRaymond L. Gray, Lithonia, Ga., assignor to Lithonia Lighting, Inc.,Conyers, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No.508,416 16 Claims. (Cl. 40-130) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An internallyilluminated sign having a direction indicator. Two oppositely directedarrowheads and a removable cover for one of the arrowheads constitutethe direction indicator. The cover may have the shape of the featherportion of an arrow. The sign case is made from two identical halves andhas break-away portions for mounting from either of the sides, the top,the bottom, or the rear face. Light from several lamps spaced along thelower inside edge of the sign case is directed through a lens onto avertical translucent face mounted within the sign case.

This invention relates to a lighted sign, and more particularly relatesto a sign of the type to be mounted in a public building to designate anexit from the building, the location of a lounge, stairs, fire escape,etc., where vivid illumination markings are desired.

In placing signs around a public building to mark exits,

etc., it is difficult to utilize one standard sign for every occasion.For instance, if the :sign is to be utilized to mark an exit at the endof a hallway where the exit door is perpendicular to the hallway, itwould be most desirable to mount the exit sign above the door againstthe wall, and parallel to the wall, so that the face of the sign can beseen for the full length of the hall. In the instance where the exit islocated at the mid point of a long hall it would be desirable to placethe sign above the exit door and have its face disposed perpendicular tothe wall to which it is attached, and perpendicular to the length of thehall. This arrangement would make the sign visable from its face to theend of the hall. Of course, if it is desired to have the sign mountedabove an exit near the center of the hall so that it can be seen fromboth ends of the hall, the sign should have two oppositely facing faces.Occasionally, there are instances where hallways intersect, as in thecase of a T-intersection, and it is desired to let the people in thehallways know that the exit is through the stem of the T. In thisinstance, it might be desirable to mount the exit sign to the ceiling byits upper portion.

With each of the arrangements recited above, it can be seen that thevarious different manners in which exit signs, and other type signs, aremounted in a public place might normally require a different sign foreach arrangement.

Since signs of the type utilized in marking public places quite oftenrequire the designation of a particular direction of the thing it ismarking, as with an arrow pointing toward an exit, the normal previousarrangement of signs of this type have called for left-handed andrighthanded signs, or faces thereof, to adapt the sign to the particularlocation. Also, there are some instances that require no particulardirection indicated so that no arrow is required on the face of thesign.

Thus, it can be seen that the placement of several simple signs such asexit signs in several locations in a public building might requireseveral different type mounting means or frame constructions of thesign, and several different face arrangements on the sign to indicatethe proper direction of the item being marked.

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Also, included in the previously discussed problems is the problem ofproperly illuminating the sign so that it is clearly visable over itsentire face from a great distance.

Accordingly, this invention comprises a lighted sign including thefollowing features: a casing having two halves, each half beingfabricated from a single mold, the halves of the sign casing havingbreak away tab portions that are easily removed so that the mountingmeans can be attached to the sign casing through the broken awayportions thereof, arrows pointing in opposite directions on the face ofthe sign, arrow covers placeable over either or both of the arrows, andan illuminating means along an inside edge of the sign casing touniformly illuminate the sign througout its face.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide an illuminated signhaving a casing formed of two parts, each part being fabricable from asingle mold.

It is another object of this invention to provide an illuminated signhaving a face with the letters of the sign cut therethrough, a brilliantmaterial positioned behind the face of the sign so that a portionthereof shows through the cutout portion of the face of the sign, and anilluminating means remote from the cutout portion of the face of thesign to uniformly illuminate the cut out portions of the face of thesign.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sign having letters cutin the face thereof, means for indicating a direction on the face of thesign, means for illuminating the sign, and means for changing thedirection indicated by the sign.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lighted sign of thetype having arrows thereon to indicate direction and means to cover thearrows.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lighted sign that canbe mounted from either of its ends, from its top portion, or from itsrear portion.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lighted sign of thetype utilized in a darkened public building to indicate the directionsto an exit, wherein the sign is vividly and uniformly illuminated with asingle source of illumination which also illuminates an area immediatelybeneath the sign.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sign having a pluralityof arrow heads out in the face portion, with arrow covers insertableinto the arrow heads, with said arrow covers having a locking means forlocking them into place in the arrow heads.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lighted sign which islighted from within, the source of illumination being a plurality ofbulbs disposed along an inner edge of the sign, and a single lensdispersing the light from each of the bulbs uniformly over the innerface of the sign.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lighted sign that iseconomical to manufacture, simple to install, adapted to a plurality ofuses, and well designed to meet the demands of economic manufacture.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent upon reading the following specification, taken inconjunction with the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the lighted sign;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exploded version of the sign in itsopen condition;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the lighting fixture of the sign with the lensremoved;

FIG. 4a is a bottom view of the lighting fixture of the sign showing aplurality of lens;

FIG. 4b is a bottom view of the lighting fixture, similar to FIG. 4a,but showing a single lens;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the sign and its attaching means, withthe attaching means being exploded to show its method of assembly;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the face of the sign, showing how thebreak-away tabs are removed;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a closure plate utilized to close theopening created by the breaking away of one of the knock-out tabs;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the sign, showing the method in which itis mounted from one end thereof;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the lighted sign, showing the method bywhich the sign is mounted from its rear wall;

FIG. 10 is a front view of a twist connection arrow cover of the lightedsign;

FIG. 11 is a back view of a twist connection arrow cover of the lightedsign, showing its attaching means;

FIG. 12 is a side view of the twist connection arrow cover;

FIGS. 1317 show the method of inserting the arrow cover of FIGS. 11 and12 over the arrow head, and locking the arrow cover to the face of thesign;

FIG. 18 is a front view of a snap connection arrow cover;

FIG. 19 is a back view of a snap connection arrow cover, showing itsconnecting means;

FIG. 20 is a side view of the snap connection arrow cover;

FIG. 21 is a back view of the snap connection arrow cover as it appearsin place over the arrow head;

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional end view of the lens of the light fixture,showing the manner in which light enters, travels through, and emergesfrom the lens;

FIG, 23 is a plan view of another form of the invention;

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, in which like numeralsindicate like parts throughout the several views, the lighted sign 20comprises a casing 21 having a front face 22 and a rear face 23. Thefront face 22 and rear face 23 are identical and are formed from thesame mold. Of course, the front face 22 has the lettering 25 cuttherethrough while the rear face 23 can be left blank if the sign is tobe utilized so that the rear face is not to be used as a sign. Ofcourse, the rear face 23 can also have lettering cut therethrough as thefront face 22 so that the sign can be placed in a location where it isvisible from both sides.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, the rear face 23 of the casing 21 isrectangular in configuration, with its corners being rounded. The inneredge 26 of the rear face 23 of the casing 21 is grooved at 28 so that aridge 29 extends around the left side of the rear face 23. The inneredge 26 is oppositely grooved on the right side of the rear face 23 sothat a flange 30 is present on the outer portion of the rear face 23while a step-down portion is present inwardly thereof.

The upper surface 31 of the rear face 23 is recessed at 32. A similarrecess 33 is present in the left side 34, while a projection 35 of equaldimensions to the recesses 32 and 33 is present in the right side 36 ofthe rear face 23. The lower surface 38 has a. plurality of indentations39 along its length, the tabs 40 between the indentations beingconstructed at their outer ends in a manner similar to the left side 34and right side 36 inner edges. In order words, the tabs to the left ofthe center of the rear face 23 are constructed with a stepped portion Sothat the flange 41 is positioned toward the inner portion of the rearface 23 and stepped down toward the outside of the sign to form theremaining portion of the tab, while th flange 42 on a tab to the rightside of the rear face 23 is positioned outwardly of the inner portion ofthe rear face so that it is stepped down toward the inside. The centertab 44 is divided at its center so that its left portion matches theleft portion of the inner edge 26 of the casing while its right portionmatches the right portion of the inner edge of the casing.

A plurality of internally threaded bosses 45 are attached to the rearface 23 of the casing 21, and are located near the ends of each of therecesses 32 and 33, and near the ends of the projection 35. Threadedbosses 46 are attached to the rear face 23 of the casing 21 on the rightside thereof, as viewed in FIG. 2, and double threaded projections 48are positioned in the lower corners of the rear face 23 of the casing.The double threaded projections 48 have two threaded apertures thereinso that they are adapted to receive two threaded screws. Plain nipples50 are attached to the rear face 23 of the casing 21, in the uppercorners thereof and are adapted to receive self locking catches 51.

The rear face 23 of the casing 21 is die-cast in such a manner that itscenter portion 52 and its small side portions 54 are recessed so thatthe casing is thin in these areas. The center portion 52 is furtherrecessed at 55 to such a degree that the portion 55 can be easilyremoved by knocking it inwardly of the casing 21 with a tool.

As shown in the lower portion of FIG. 2, the front face 22 of the casing21 is constructed from the same die as the rear face 23, and isidentical thereto except for the modifications made therein after it hasbeen removed from the die. It should be noted that the lower portion ofFIG. 2 shows that the projection 35 has a groove 56 that extendsinwardly of the projection 35 which is a mirror image of the projection.The groove 56 is of such a depth that the projection 35 can be easilyremoved by bending it inwardly toward the center portion of the sidewith a tool. This, of course, makes the projection 35 a break-away orknock-out projection, as is the encircled portion 55 of the centerportion 52 of the rear face 23.

The rear face 23 and the front face 22 which has an inner edge 26 isidentical to that of rear face 23, and are positioned so that they aredisposed next to each other and their inner edges 26 meet each other.Since the inner edges 26 are grooved, the rear face and front face willfit each other and be locked in place with respect to each other whenpositioned in this manner.

Hinges 58 of simple bent wire construction are positioned at the loweredge of the rear face 23 in the grooves 59 of the double-threadedprojections 48 and fastened in place by inserting clamps 60 thereoverand screwing the clamps 60 in place with the screws 61. The other end ofthe hinges 58 are attached to the front face 22 in a similar manner bythe clamps 62 and screws 64. The clamps 61? and 62 are bent so thattheir leg portions 65 and 66 Wlll contact the inner portion of theirrespective rear face 23 and front face 22. The clamp 60 and its leg 65are also utilized to clamp the internal wiring of the sign in place. Thehinges 58 are constructed so that the front face 22 can be pivoted awayfrom the rear face 23 along their bottom edges so that they can bedisposed generally in the position shown in FIG. 2.

A transformer 70 is attached to the threaded bosses 46 of the rear face23 and suitable wiring 71 leads to the transformer from outside thelighted sign, while internal wir ng 72 leads from the transformer 70toward the source of illumination of the sign. The wires 72 of thetransformer 70 are clamped in place by inserting the selflocklng holders51 thereover and sliding them over the nipples 50 so that the wires 72are wedged between the self-locking holders 51 and the inner surface ofthe rear face 23 of the casing 21.

The source of illumination for the sign is the lighting fixture 75 whichis attached to the rear face 23 of the casing 21 by the tabs 76. Thetabs 76 are placed over the double threaded projections 48 and fastenedthereto by suitable screws 78. As is best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4a, thelighting fixture 75 comprises a plurality of light bulbs 79 positionedalong its length in a plastic casing 80 of suitable design. The lightbulbs 79 are recessed in the casing 80 and their sockets are located inthe platforms 81. The tabs 76 have projections 82 that extend to a shortdistance over the housing 80 and the lens 85 is held on the severalplatforms 81 by wedging it between these platforms and the tabs orprojections 82 of the tabs 76. The lens 85 is fabricated of a hardplastic material that is transparent and substantially semi-circular incross-section. The recesses 77 of the fixture extend all the waytherethrough and the corrugated prismatic plastic lenses 86:: (FIG. 4a)are positioned on the bottom side thereof by sliding them through thetabs 88 in the conventional manner. When the lighting fixture 75 isattached to the rear face 23 of the lighted sign the bulbs 79 and theirprismatic plastic lenses 36 are positioned over the recesses orindentations 39 (FIG. 2) in the lower surface 38 of the casing 21. As isshown in FIG. 4b, a single lens 86b can be inserted through the tabs 88for simplicity of assembly.

As shown in FIG. 2, the front face 22 has letters 90 cut therethrough inits inner portion 52 and arrows 91 in its side portion 54. While theletters shown in this specific embodiment spell the word Exit it shouldbe obvious that other words could be spelled out in the face of thesign.

A translucent cover 92 is placed against the inner surface of the frontface 22 so that it covers both the letters 90 and the arrows 91. Thetranslucent cover 92 is dimensioned so that it can be positioned nearthe plain nipples 50 and the double threaded projections 48 andself-locking catches 51 can be slipped over the plain nipples 50 so thatthey trap the translucent cover 92 against the inner portion of thefront face 22 while the clamp 62 is attached to the front face 22 by thescrews 64 so that its leg portion 66 bears against the cover. In thismanner, the translucent cover is firmly maintained in its positionagainst the inner surface of the front face 22 so that the letters 90and arrows 91 expose a portion of the translucent cover 92. Of course,the translucent cover is of a color that contrasts with the face of thesign, and in the case of an exit sign, the color usually used is abright reddish color which is clearly visible when illuminated.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, it can be seen that the projection 35 ofeither the rear face 23 or the front face 22 of the sign casing 21 canbe broken away by bending it inwardly of the sign. When the projectionis broken away in this manner and the front and rear faces of the signplaced back together, as shown in FIG. 1, a hole is left in the side ofthe sign. The closure plate 95 of FIG. 7, is constructed of a shape thatmatches the outline of the hole left by breaking away a projection 35.The closure plate 95 defines a central projection 96 and sideprojections 98. The central projection 96 and the closure plate 95 arecentrally apertured at 99 while all three projections have screw holes100 extending into one side thereof, the screw hole of the centralprojection being threaded. The closure plate 95 is positionable in thehole left by breaking away the projection 35 of the side of the casing21 and the closure plate is attached to the casing by inserting thescrews through the holes 100 of the side projections 98 and threadingthe screws into the threaded bosses 45.

As is shown in FIGS. 10, 11, and 12, twist connection arrow covers 101are provided that comprise a rectangular plate with stripes 102 ofcontrasting color painted thereon. A locking device 104 is positioned onthe rear side of the arrow tail 101. The locking device 104 comprises aprojection 105 attached to the rear face of the arrow cover 101 withtabs 106 and 107 extending on opposite sides thereof, and parallel tothe plane of the arrow cover 101. The tabs 106 and 107 are displacedfrom the plane of the arrow cover a distance approxi mately equal to thethickness of the front face 22 of the casing 21. The projection 105 isgenerally circular in configuration having a pointed portion 108substantially intermediate the tabs 106 and 107.

The arrow cover 101 has a tensioning knob 110 attached to its rear faceat a distance displaced from the locking device 104 and a locking knob111 attached to the rear face at a position remote from the tensioningknob 110. The locking knob 111 is positioned at a distance closer to theprojection 105 than the tensioning knob 110.

FIGS. 18-20 show a snap-on arrow cover 125 that comprises asubstantially flat plate 126 having a projection 128 extending from onesurface thereof that functions as a locking device. The projection 128has a pointed portion 129 and sloping side portions 130 that slope awayfrom the pointed portion 129 at an angle approximately equal to theangle that the wings of the arrow of the face of the sign slope awayfrom its pointed portion. The tab 131 extends outwardly from the pointedportion 129 of the projection 128, is displaced from the surface of theplate 126, and extends substantially parallel to the plate. Lockingknobs 132 are re motedly disposed from the projection 128, and thetensioning knobs 134 are remotely disposed from both the locking knobs132 and the projection 128.

Referring now to FIG. 22, the transparent lens 85 is shaped in such amanner that the light emitted from the source of illumination 135 isdirected primarily upwardly of the fixture as opposed to laterallythereof. The lens is shaped in this manner so that the translucentscreen or cover 92 is more uniformly illuminated throughout its entirewidth even though the source of illumination 135 is located along oneedge of the sign casing. The lens 85 has been accurately shaped so thatwhen it is positioned over the source of illumination 135, the ratio ofthe intensity of light emitted from the face of the sign from the bottomtoward the top of the sign is approximately three to one. Without alense of this type, the ratio of intensity of the light emitted from thebottom of the sign as compared to that emitted from the top of the signwould be much greater than three to one, since the ratio would be merelya function of the distance of the source of illumination 135 from thevarious portions of the sign. For instance, if the source ofillumination 135 was located at a distance of onehalf inch from thelower portion of the sign and at six inches from the upper portion ofthe sign, the ratio of intensity of the light emitted from the lowerportion of the sign to the upper portion of the sign would beapproximately twelve to one.

Operation The lighted sign can be mounted from the ceiling as shown inFIG. 5, extending outwardly from a wall as shown in FIG. 8, or attachedin a parallel fashion to a wall as shown in FIG. 9.

When attaching the sign to the ceiling, a mounting bar 114 is attachedto the outlet box to which the sign is to be connected. A threaded tube115 is screwed into the central threaded aperture of the mounting bar114, a canopy 116 is slipped over the threaded tube, a closure plate isslipped over the treaded tube, the bar passing through the aperture 99,and a locking nut 118 is threaded over the end of the threaded tube totightly assemble the parts. The closure plate 95 is then connected tothe threaded bosses 45 and the wires 71 of the sign connected to thewires of the outlet.

Of course, if it is desired to mount the sign from one of its ends, asshown in FIG. 8, one of the projections 35 is broken away and a closureplate 95 is positioned therein and the sign mounted in a similar manner.If it is desired to mount the sign from its rear surface, as shown inFIG. 9, the knock-out 55 is removed from the rear face 23 of the signand the threaded tube 115 inserted therethrough. Of course, a closureplate is not required when the sign is mounted in this manner.

After the sign is mounted in its proper position it might be desirableto cover one of the arrows 91, or possibly cover both of the arrows.This can be easily done by covering the arrows with the twist connectionarrow covers 101. As is shown in FIGS. 15-17, the projection of thearrow cover 101 is inserted through the arrow so that the tabs 106 and107 extend inside the casing 21. The arrow cover 101 is then rotated inthe direction as indicated by the arrow 120 so that the tabs 106 and 107extend on opposite sides of the front face 22 from the arrow cover 101.When the arrow cover 101 is positioned so that its locking device 104 isinserted through the arrow 91, the tension knob 110 and the locking knob111 tend to hold the arrow cover 101 slightly away from the surface ofthe front face 22 so that the projection 105 does not extend far enoughthrough the arrow 91 to permit the tabs 106 and 107 to grip the innersurface of the front face 22 of the casing 21. Thus, the operator mustexert enough force on the arrow cover to bend it slightly so that thetabs 106 and 107 are projected far enough into the casing to grip theinner surface of the front face 22. Of course, the arrow cover isfabricated of a material that allows it to bend in such a manner.

After the tabs 106 and 107 grip the front face 22 as shown in FIG. 16,the arrow cover is rotated in the direction as indicated by the arrow120 until the stripes 102 of the arrow cover are in a position so thatthey appear to be an arrow tail, as shown in FIG. 14. When the arrowcover is in this position, the locking knob 111 has rotated to theposition as shown in FIG. 17 where it has slipped into the pointed edgeor wing 121 of the arrow 91. Of course, the tension knob 110 stillmaintains the arrow cover 102 in a slightly bowed condition so that thelocking knob 111 is firmly positioned in the pointed edge or wing 121 ofthe arrow 91.

As is shown in FIG. 12, the locking knob 111 is formed with relativelystraight side portions 122 while the tension knob 110 has relativelyrounded side portions 124. The straight side portions 122 of the lockingknob 111 function to permanently lock the arrow cover to the arrow sinceit is difficult to remove the straight side portion from the pointededge 121 of the arrow because of the tension exerted on the arrow coverby the tension knob 110.

As is shown in FIG. 15, when the arrow cover 101 is inserted in thearrow 91, the pointed portion 108 of the projection 105 is positioned sothat it bears against the base 109 of the arrow and the arrow covercannot be rotated in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow120. When the arrow cover 101 has been rotated to the position as shownin FIG. 17, the pointed portion 108 bears against the point of the arrowso that the arrow cover cannot be moved any further.

The arrows 91 can also be covered with the snap connection arrow covers125. The arrow cover is merely positioned over the arrow so that the tab131 slips under the point of the arrows and the pointed portions 129bears against the pointed portion of the arrow head. The sloping sidewalls 130 of the projection 128 of the snap connection cover 125 will'bear against the sloped portions of the arrow head so that the coverwill be properly aligned. After the tab 131 has positioned as describedabove, the locking knobs 132 will be positioned in the Wing portions 121of the arrow head and tend to lock the arrow cover in place over thearrow head. The tensioning knobs 134 are positioned to one side of thetab 131 so that they bear against the face of the sign and tend to pivotthe arrow cover 125 around its tab 131 as it grips the inside surface ofthe sign casing. This, of course, tends to force the locking knobs 132into the wing portions 121 of the arrow head so that they are difficultto remove. This construction tends to make the arrow covers tamper-proofso that they are not easily removed by a person that does not know theirmethod of construction. Of course, the locking knobs 132 are configuredwith substantially straight sides as described of the locking knobs 111of the arrow cover 101. Furthermore, the tensioning knobs 134, togetherwith the resiliency of the plate 126 of the arrow cover 125 tend tocompensate for any variations in thickness of the casing of the sign, sothat when a substantially thick sign casing has arrow applied thereto,the plate 126 will merely bend slightly more to compensate for the extrathickness; whereas a thinner sign casing will not fiex the plate 126quite as much.

Thus, it can be seen that the instant invention is truly universal inthat it requires only a single mold to cast both the front face and theback face of the sign casing so that the faces thereof areinterchangeable and the sign can be mounted with a single lettered signface or with oppositely facing lettered sign faces, the casing can bemounted from either of its ends, from its rear wall, or from its upperedge, and the arrows of the sign face can be covered with arrow coversso that the remaining arrow is the only one visible and the arrow covercovering the opposite arrow helps to emphasize the direction of theremaining exposed arrow. Furthermore, the arrow covers are constructedso that they are locked in place when properly inserted over the arrowsso that they are difiicult to remove and not subject to tampering.

While the invention has been disclosed as a sign with arrow heads ateach end of a sign face and arrow covers to selectively cover thearrows, it is anticipated, as is shown in FIG. 18, that a single, long,double-headed arrow could be utilized along a border of the sign and oneof the arrow heads covered by an arrow cover. Furtheremore, to furtheremphasize the direction of the exit, the arrow cover, instead of havingthe stripes 102 as shown in FIG. 10, could have a series of aperturescut therethrough so that the light from the interior portion of thelighted sign could pass therethrough.

The lighting fixture functions to uniformly illuminate the interiorportion of the sign casing 21. The plurality of light bulbs 79 aredisposed so that they illuminate the single lens which, because of itsshape and location, directs a large portion of the light toward theupper portion of the cover 92, refracts the light and illuminates theentire interior casing 21 and cover 92 of the sign 20 without a brightspot appearing on the face of the sign. Of course, since the bulbs 79are positioned over the indentations 39 in the lower surface 38 of thesign 20, a portion of the light emanating from the bulbs 79 is directed.below the sign. Of course, this feature is highly desirable in dimlylighted locations, such as a movie house, where the public not onlyneeds to know the location and direction of the exit, but also needs asmall amount of light to see the stairs, the aisle, the location ofseats, etc. The prismatic plastic lens 86 in the lighting fixture 75functions to diffuse the light given off from the bulbs 79 so that thislight is not disturbing to the people in the darkened area as it mightbe if a bare bulb were exposed.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations maybe made in the embodiments chosen for the purpose of illustrating thepresent invention without departing from the scope thereof as defined bythe appended claims.

What is claimed as invention is:

1. In a plate with an inner surface and an outer surface having an arrowhead cut therethrough, means for covering said arrow head from the outersurface comprising a substantially flat plate, a projection extendingfrom one side of said plate, said projection having a pointed portionwith sides sloping away from said pointed portion at angles generallyequal to the sloping sides of the point of said arrow head, a tabextending from the pointed portion of said projection parallel to andspaced from said plate, at least one locking knob extending from saidone side of said plate remotely disposed from said projection, and atleast one tension knob extending from said one side of said plateremotely disposed from said projection and said locking knob, wherebysaid projection is adapted to fit through the arrow head with thepointed portion and sloping sides of said projection fitting the pointedportion and sloping sides of the arrow head, said tab grasping the innersurface of said plate, said locking knob projecting into said arrow headand said tension knob bearing against the outer surface of said platehaving the arrowhead cut therethrough.

2. In a sign casing having an arrowhead cut therethrough, an opaquearrowhead cover comprising means for insertion through said arrowheadfor attaching said cover to said casing, means for biasing said coveragainst said casing, and means for preventing rotation of said coverwith respect to said casing.

3. In a sign casing having a noncircular hole cut through its face,means for covering said hole comprising a plate having one surfacethereof being substantially flat, a projection extending from said onesurface for insertion through said hole, tabs extending from oppositesides of said projection, said tabs being spaced from said one surfacefor gripping said face, and locking means for preventing relativerotation between said sign and said surface.

4. In a sign casing hole covering means as claimed in claim 3, furthercomprising means for biasing said means for covering said hole away fromsaid face.

5. In a sign having a casing with an arrow with a point, wing portionsand a stem cut therethrough, the combination therewith of a cover forcovering said arrow comprising a flat plate, a substantially circularprojection extending from one surface of said plate, tabs extending fromsaid projection, said tabs being disposed substantially parallel to anddisplaced from said plate, a knob extending from said one surface ofsaid plate whereby said tabs and said projection are inserted throughsaid arrow and rotated so that said tabs engage said casing on the sidethereof opposite from said cover and said knob is inserted into one ofsaid wing portions.

6. The combination of claim wherein said cover has a second knob forbiasing said cover away from said casing.

7. In an internally illuminated sign of the type utilized to indicate adirection, the combination of a hollow casing having a front face, arear face, top, bottom and side surfaces, said front face definingapertures including a direction indicator, a translucent screenjuxtaposed the inner surface of said front face, a plurality of lightingmeans disposed within said casing, a single lens juxtaposed saidplurality of lighting means to disperse the light emanating from saidlighting means and to uniformly illuminate said translucent screen,means for mounting said sign selectively from its top surface or sidesurfaces, and means for changing the direction indicated by saiddirection indicator.

8. The internally illuminated sign of claim 7 including means forilluminating an area below said sign.

9. In a surface having an arrow head cut therethrough, means forcovering said arrowhead comprising a flat plate, a projection extendingfrom one side of said plate, said projection being substantially roundin cross section with a dull pointed portion, tabs extending fromopposite sides of said projection, parallel to and spaced from saidplate, a tension knob extending from said one side of said plate andremotely disposed from said projection and a locking knob extending fromsaid one side of said plate and remotely disposed from said projectionand said tension knob.

10. A direction indicating means for a sign, comprising: meansrepresenting a horizontal arrow shaft having left and right ends, a leftdirected arrowhead adjacent to said left end, a right directed arrowheadadjacent to said right end, and means releasably engaged with said sign,and covering one of said left directed and right directed arrowheads,said last-named means also being releasably engageable with the other ofsaid left directed and right directed arrowheads.

11. The direction indicating means of claim 10 wherein said arrow shaft,said left directed arrowhead and said right directed arrowhead aretranslucent, and said cover means is opaque.

12. The direction indicating means of claim 11 including means withinsaid sign for illuminating said arrow shaft, said left directedarrowhead and said right directed arrowhead, and wherein said arrowshaft defines a group of letters forming a message.

13. The direction indicating means of claim 10 wherein the surfaces ofsaid arrow shaft, said left directed arrowhead and said right directedarrowhead reflect light.

14. The direction indicating means of claim 10 wherein said cover meansis shaped to form the feather of an arrow.

15. A sign having means for selectively indicating one of two directionsor both directions, said indicating means comprising: a rectangulararrow shaft having first and second ends, a generally triangular shapedfirst arrowhead adjacent to said first end and pointing away from saidarrow shaft, a generally triangular shaped second arrowhead adjacentsaid second end and pointing away from said arrow shaft, and meansreleasably engaged with said sign and covering one of said left directedor said right directed arrowheads, said covering means also beingreleasably engageable with the other of said left directed or said rightdirected arrowheads.

16. A direction indicating means for a sign, comprising: means on thesign for defining a group of letters forming a message, said group ofletters having left and right ends, a left directed arrowhead adjacentto said left end, a right directed arrowhead adjacent to said right end,means releasably engaged with said sign and covering said left directedarrowhead, and means releasably engaged with said sign and covering saidright directed arrowhead.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,081,646 12/1913 Witz 40-1301,145,005 7/1915 Dolan 40-61 1,241,886 10/1917 Rowe 40-130X 1,385,9137/192'1 Goldstein 40-132 1,497,958 6/ 1924 Swinford 40-125 1,884,29010/1932 Schults et a1. 40-130 1,932,291 10/1933 Profantaine 215-322,148,179 2/ 1939 Sunderhauf 40-130 2,857,067 10/ 1958 Lehmans-Leroy215-132 2,902,784 9/1959 Sukul 40-61 3,215,453 11/ 1965 Malcom 40-130FOREIGN PATENTS 5,638 3/ 1907 Great Britain.

EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner. W. J. CONTRERAS, AssistantExaminer.

